“To work at the office or from home? Almost everyone wants to do both!”

How much will people work from home after coronavirus? With a new works agreement, Volkswagen is making preparations for the much discussed “new normal”. The first divisions, including Group logistics, are coming up with customised solutions for their future collaboration. Simon Motter, head of Group logistics, and works council member Dirk Wagner talk about hybrid working and the cultural shift.

With a new works agreement, Volkswagen is laying the foundations for collaboration after coronavirus – in the office and when working from home.

The number of cases is rising in many places. What is the motivation behind your plans for after the pandemic?

Motter: We haven’t only just started making these plans, we’ve been working on them for months. After the initial shock of coronavirus we discovered that many tasks can be done while working from home better than expected. This is true of individual activities, but even collaboration worked really well after a brief settling in period. On the other hand, physical interactions are still important for team spirit and shared ideas. Which is why we told our logistics specialists not to wait until the end of the pandemic and asked them to suggest how they would like to work in the future.

Wagner: Most colleagues don’t want to work entirely from the office or entirely from home. They want the freedom to connect their professional and private lives in a way that suits them. A lot of them also tell me that they miss their office mates or their team. They want to be the ones deciding how collaboration continues.

“The individual teams are the ones who know when they need to meet in the office and what they can do from home.”

Simon Motter, head of Group logistics

What are the rules of play here?

Motter: Even before coronavirus we had a modern works agreement at Volkswagen that allowed plenty of scope for mobile working. For example, quite a few employees had agreed with their superiors that they were allowed to work ten or 20 hours a week outside the office. The new works agreement develops this further. In future, up to four days of mobile work per week will be allowed.

Wagner: But no one will be forced to work from home! There are also people who want to come into the office every day. Which is why we have agreed that employees will still have access to a proper workstation at the company.

What will this mean for working culture when working from home several days a week becomes the norm?

Wagner: We need to be ready to learn about hybrid collaboration in depth. We adopted many practices during the pandemic because we had to: online meetings, digital department areas, time management when working from home. But not everyone is a Microsoft Teams expert – to give one example. It is important to us that our colleagues are able to expand their knowledge, if they wish.

Motter: Superiors have to place even more trust in their employees than before. This means agreeing on common goals and letting employees implement them. As a manager, I am not able to supervise the work process in detail anyway. It is also about choosing the way of working. I am convinced that the individual teams are the ones who know when they need to meet in the office and what they can do from home.

“I really hope that the coronavirus restrictions will soon be behind us. Lots of colleagues are looking forward to the new ways of working.”

Works council member Dirk Wagner

What skills do you need to succeed in the hybrid world of work?

Motter: The more I work from home, the more intentional I have to be about organising my communication. This is true of communication with business partners and in the team. There are hardly any chance encounters. During the pandemic, we regularly discussed how we could share information, which meetings we need and when individual employees should be free to get on with work without being interrupted. This learning process is still ongoing.

Wagner: Good communication is important. And I always say that it is important to take care of your health when working from home! Don’t sit in front of your computer for hours at a time. Stand up at regular intervals and move around. There are a lot of freedoms at home that employees should make use of. And even when working from home, when it is time to stop working, it is time to stop working. No one needs to be contactable 24 hours a day.

When will the new collaboration get started?

Motter: The new works agreement will come into force as soon as the pandemic allows. The majority of the teams already have clear ideas of how they will collaborate. The question isn’t whether to work at the office or from home? Almost everyone wants to do both! Some teams will meet in the office on certain days, others have opted for flexible models. At the beginning in particular, we will be learning new things all the time. The teams have the freedom to make regular decisions on how they are best able to complete their tasks and how they want to do this.

Wagner: I really hope that the coronavirus restrictions will soon be behind us. Lots of colleagues are looking forward to the new ways of working. They want to see their departments again, while remaining flexible when it comes to time. And that is what hybrid collaboration is all about: finding the ideal way to combine work tasks, the needs of the team and the needs of individuals. I want to encourage you to organise your way of working in a way that suits you!